alcohol, any of a class of organic compounds characterized by one or more hydroxyl (−OH) groups attached to a carbon atom of an alkyl group (hydrocarbon chain). Alcohols may be considered as organic derivatives of water (H2O) in which one of the hydrogen atoms has been replaced by an alkyl group, typically represented by R in organic structures. For example, in ethanol (or ethyl alcohol) the alkyl group is the ethyl group, −CH2CH3.

Alcohols are among the most common organic compounds. They are used as sweeteners and in making perfumes, are valuable intermediates in the synthesis of other compounds, and are among the most abundantly produced organic chemicals in industry. Perhaps the two best-known alcohols are ethanol and methanol (or methyl alcohol). Ethanol is used in toiletries, pharmaceuticals, and fuels, and it is used to sterilize hospital instruments. It is, moreover, the alcohol in alcoholic beverages. The anesthetic ether is also made from ethanol. Methanol is used as a solvent, as a raw material for the manufacture of formaldehyde and special resins, in special fuels, in antifreeze, and for cleaning metals.

Alcohols may be classified as primary, secondary, or tertiary, according to which carbon of the alkyl group is bonded to the hydroxyl group. Most alcohols are colourless liquids or solids at room temperature. Alcohols of low molecular weight are highly soluble in water; with increasing molecular weight, they become less soluble in water, and their boiling points, vapour pressures, densities, and viscosities increase.

This article covers the structure and classification, physical properties, commercial importance, sources, and reactions of alcohols. For more information about closely related compounds, seechemical compound, phenol, and ether.

Structure and classification of alcohols

Similar to water, an alcohol can be pictured as having an sp3 hybridized tetrahedral oxygen atom with nonbonding pairs of electrons occupying two of the four sp3 hybrid orbitals. (Seechemical bonding for a discussion of hybrid orbitals.) Alkyl groups are generally bulkier than hydrogen atoms, however, so the R−O−H bond angle in alcohols is generally larger than the 104.5° H−O−H bond angle in water. For example, the 108.9° bond angle in methanol shows the effect of the methyl group, which is larger than the hydrogen atom of water.

One way of classifying alcohols is based on which carbon atom is bonded to the hydroxyl group. If this carbon is primary (1°, bonded to only one other carbon atom), the compound is a primary alcohol. A secondary alcohol has the hydroxyl group on a secondary (2°) carbon atom, which is bonded to two other carbon atoms. Similarly, a tertiary alcohol has the hydroxyl group on a tertiary (3°) carbon atom, which is bonded to three other carbons. Alcohols are referred to as allylic or benzylic if the hydroxyl group is bonded to an allylic carbon atom (adjacent to a C=C double bond) or a benzylic carbon atom (next to a benzene ring), respectively.

As with other types of organic compounds, alcohols are named by both formal and common systems. The most generally applicable system is that adopted at a meeting of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in Paris in 1957. Using the IUPAC system, the name for an alcohol uses the -ol suffix with the name of the parent alkane, together with a number to give the location of the hydroxyl group. The rules are summarized in a three-step procedure:

Name the longest carbon chain that contains the carbon atom bearing the −OH group. Drop the final -e from the alkane name, and add the suffix -ol.

Number the longest carbon chain starting at the end nearest the −OH group, and use the appropriate number, if necessary, to indicate the position of the −OH group.

Name the substituents, and give their numbers as for an alkane or alkene.

The first example below has a longest chain of six carbon atoms, so the root name is hexanol. The −OH group is on the third carbon atom, which is indicated by the name 3-hexanol. There is a methyl group on carbon 3 and a chlorine atom on carbon 2. The complete IUPAC name is 2-chloro-3-methyl-3-hexanol. The prefix cyclo- is used for alcohols with cyclic alkyl groups. The hydroxyl group is assumed to be on carbon 1, and the ring is numbered in the direction to give the lowest possible numbers to the other substituents, as in, for example, 2,2-dimethylcyclopentanol.

Common names

The common name of an alcohol combines the name of the alkyl group with the word alcohol. If the alkyl group is complex, the common name becomes awkward and the IUPAC name should be used. Common names often incorporate obsolete terms in the naming of the alkyl group; for example, amyl is frequently used instead of pentyl for a five-carbon chain.

Physical properties of alcohols

Most of the common alcohols are colourless liquids at room temperature. Methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, and isopropyl alcohol are free-flowing liquids with fruity odours. The higher alcohols—those containing 4 to 10 carbon atoms—are somewhat viscous, or oily, and they have heavier fruity odours. Some of the highly branched alcohols and many alcohols containing more than 12 carbon atoms are solids at room temperature.

Physical properties of selected alcohols

IUPAC name

common name

formula

mp (°C)

methanol

methyl alcohol

CH3OH

−97

ethanol

ethyl alcohol

CH3CH2OH

−114

1-propanol

n-propyl alcohol

CH3CH2CH2OH

−126

2-propanol

isopropyl alcohol

(CH3)2CHOH

−89

1-butanol

n-butyl alcohol

CH3(CH2)3OH

−90

2-butanol

sec-butyl alcohol

(CH3)CH(OH)CH2CH3

−114

2-methyl-1-propanol

isobutyl alcohol

(CH3)2CHCH2OH

−108

2-methyl-2-propanol

t-butyl alcohol

(CH3)3COH

25

1-pentanol

n-pentyl alcohol

CH3(CH2)4OH

−79

3-methyl-1-butanol

isopentyl alcohol

(CH3)2CHCH2CH2OH

−117

2,2-dimethyl-1-propanol

neopentyl alcohol

(CH3)3CCH2OH

52

cyclopentanol

cyclopentyl alcohol

cyclo-C5H9OH

−19

1-hexanol

n-hexanol

CH3(CH2)5OH

−52

cyclohexanol

cyclohexyl alcohol

cyclo-C6H11OH

25

1-heptanol

n-heptyl alcohol

CH3(CH2)6OH

−34

1-octanol

n-octyl alcohol

CH3(CH2)7OH

−16

1-nonanol

n-nonyl alcohol

CH3(CH2)8OH

−6

1-decanol

n-decyl alcohol

CH3(CH2)9OH

6

2-propen-1-ol

allyl alcohol

H2C=CH−CH2OH

−129

phenylmethanol

benzyl alcohol

Ph−CH2OH*

−15

diphenylmethanol

diphenylcarbinol

Ph2CHOH*

69

triphenylmethanol

triphenylcarbinol

Ph3COH*

162

IUPAC name

bp (°C)

density (grams per millilitre)

solubility in water

methanol

65

0.79

miscible

ethanol

78

0.79

miscible

1-propanol

97

0.80

miscible

2-propanol

82

0.79

miscible

1-butanol

118

0.81

9.1%

2-butanol

100

0.81

7.7%

2-methyl-1-propanol

108

0.80

10.0%

2-methyl-2-propanol

83

0.79

miscible

1-pentanol

138

0.82

2.7%

3-methyl-1-butanol

132

0.81

2.0%

2,2-dimethyl-1-propanol

113

0.81

3.5%

cyclopentanol

141

0.95

1-hexanol

156

0.82

0.6%

cyclohexanol

162

0.96

3.6%

1-heptanol

176

0.82

0.1%

1-octanol

194

0.83

1-nonanol

214

0.83

1-decanol

233

0.83

2-propen-1-ol

97

0.86

phenylmethanol

205

1.05

diphenylmethanol

298

triphenylmethanol

380

1.20

*Ph represents the phenyl group, C6H5—.

The boiling points of alcohols are much higher than those of alkanes with similar molecular weights. For example, ethanol, with a molecular weight (MW) of 46, has a boiling point of 78 °C (173 °F), whereas propane (MW 44) has a boiling point of −42 °C (−44 °F). Such a large difference in boiling points indicates that molecules of ethanol are attracted to one another much more strongly than are propane molecules. Most of this difference results from the ability of ethanol and other alcohols to form intermolecular hydrogen bonds. (Seechemical bonding: Intermolecular forces for a discussion of hydrogen bonding.)

The oxygen atom of the strongly polarized O−H bond of an alcohol pulls electron density away from the hydrogen atom. This polarized hydrogen, which bears a partial positive charge, can form a hydrogen bond with a pair of nonbonding electrons on another oxygen atom. Hydrogen bonds, with a strength of about 5 kilocalories (21 kilojoules) per mole, are much weaker than normal covalent bonds, with bond energies of about 70 to 110 kilocalories per mole. (The amount of energy per mole that is required to break a given bond is called its bond energy.)

Water and alcohols have similar properties because water molecules contain hydroxyl groups that can form hydrogen bonds with other water molecules and with alcohol molecules, and likewise alcohol molecules can form hydrogen bonds with other alcohol molecules as well as with water. Because alcohols form hydrogen bonds with water, they tend to be relatively soluble in water. The hydroxyl group is referred to as a hydrophilic (“water-loving”) group, because it forms hydrogen bonds with water and enhances the solubility of an alcohol in water. Methanol, ethanol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and t-butyl alcohol are all miscible with water. Alcohols with higher molecular weights tend to be less water-soluble, because the hydrocarbon part of the molecule, which is hydrophobic (“water-hating”), is larger with increased molecular weight. Because they are strongly polar, alcohols are better solvents than hydrocarbons for ionic compounds and other polar substances.

Commercially important alcohols

Methanol (methyl alcohol) was originally produced by heating wood chips in the absence of air. Some of the carbohydrates in the wood are broken down to form methanol, and the methanol vapour is then condensed. This process led to the name wood alcohol as another common name for methanol. Methanol is synthesized commercially by a catalytic reaction of carbon monoxide (CO) with hydrogen gas (H2) under high temperature and pressure.

The mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen needed to make methanol can be generated by the partial burning of coal in the presence of water. By carefully regulating the amount of water added, the correct ratio of carbon monoxide to hydrogen can be obtained.

Methanol has excellent properties as a polar organic solvent and is widely used as an industrial solvent. It is more toxic than ethanol, however, and may cause blindness or death if large amounts are inhaled or ingested.

Methanol has a high octane rating and a low emission of pollutants—characteristics that make it a valuable fuel for automobile engines. From the late 1960s until 2006, the cars at the Indianapolis 500, the automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, were powered by methanol-burning engines. Methanol was once under consideration as a commercial motor fuel because it is cheaper than ethanol and can be made from natural gas and coal resources. However, increasing interest in ethanol-based fuels and difficulties involving the solvent properties of methanol, which cause problems with fuel systems—especially in fuel-injected cars—have resulted in diminished commercial interest in methanol fuels. Methanol tends to dissolve the plastic and rubber components employed in modern fuel systems, and different materials must be used that can survive exposure to methanol over long periods of time without dissolving or cracking.

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